Heavenly Father,
You have called us all to holiness
which means sharing in Your divine life.
Fill us with a sense of our true dignity
as those called to be Your daughters
and sons in the world
and your ambassadors of justice,
love and peace.
Give us the desire to be worthy
of this great calling
and the courage to live up to it.
Holy Mary, Virgin Mother of God,
who was conceived without sin,
I choose you, this day
to protect our home.
I ask you through your Immaculate Conception,
to preserve it from pestilence, fire and water;
from lightning and tempests,
from robbers, from schisms and heresies,
from earthquakes and from sudden death.
Bless and protect, O holy Virgin,
Father, all-powerful and ever-living God,
During the Holy Season of Lent
You call us to a closer union with Yourself.
Help me to prepare to celebrate
The Paschal Mystery
With mind and heart renewed.
Give me a spirit of loving reverence
For You, our Father,
And of willing service to my neighbor.
As I recall the great events
All loving and merciful Father,
by Your abiding presence and abundant grace
You know our every need.
Bless all women who have adopted a child.
They have so valued Your gift of life
that they have welcomed a child into their home,
and opened their hearts and their lives.
Help them to know Your loving Providence,
Strolling along the path, I turned a corner and suddenly my eye caught a statue. At first, I was unsure if the figure was male or female, human or angelic, but its pose was striking and attractive. One arm was outstretched, holding a crown.
In Saint Frances of Rome
You have given us a model of holiness,
in married life and of monastic conversion.
By Your hand-maid’s aid,
may we know, love and serve You
with all perseverance and fortitude,
so that in all circumstances,
we may fix our gaze upon You alone,
follow Your Only-begotten Son,
and faithfully carry our cross with gratitude.
Lord, You are the source
of compassion and mercy.
Give me a humble, contrite heart
that I may believe in Your goodness and love
and entrust my life to Your care.
Father, Your love gave the saints Perpetua and Felicity
courage to suffer a cruel martyrdom
By their prayers, help us to grow in love of You.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever and ever.
Amen.
Lord, You are the source of love and life.
Help me to see You when I am afraid.
Remove my fears that I may live in peace
with my neighbors.
For the past seven years, I have traveled on Fridays to the Carmelite monastery located in a mountain canyon known as the Cajon del Maipo. I go there to celebrate Mass for the cloistered Discalced Carmelite Sisters. In the wintertime, as I drive to the monastery, I have often marveled at the beauty of the snowcapped mountains. But, not this winter! Why?